Since we have three girls, the issue of modesty comes up a ton. They will point out to people and say, "mom, that is not modest because....(whatever the reason)....but, that is okay if they arewearing it because they don't know." Funny, I know.
Well, knowing they know our standard for modesty, we couldn't have them playing with barbies, or their princesses. I mean lets be honest, when you come across a naked Barbie on the floor, it is a little offensive right?
Well, here is the before:
And the after:
I just used a sharpie and colored a one piece bathing suit. Love the final result! What do you think?
2.05.2011
Modest is always hottest!
Posted by will, jess, gabbie, kensie, cambrie... at 2/05/2011 04:46:00 PM
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57 comments:
i think this is hilarious. truly. but you can bet your sweet sharpie'd bippy that i'm dashing off to modestify my daughters barbies right now...
saw you on 'better after' and had to come visit.
blessings,
alison
stuff and nonsense
I totally love this! My 11year old daughter wants to do this now. Great idea!
Bless your heart, this is perfect! I am sending your link to my daughters that would love to fix the Barbies in their home :)
What a sweet, God-honoring place you have here. I can't wait to peruse a little more.
Kindly, Lorraine
Sweet! Breaking out the sharpie right now... :)
Saw you on before and after and LOVE this idea! I have colored Sharpies too so I can't wait to do this w/ my DDs dolls! Barbie's beware!
I totally agree with everyone else, I am impressed with this idea, and will be giving my daughter's Barbie the modest treatment any minute now!
OK SERIOUSLY! I LOVE YOU and I don't even know you!!! Thank you! I can't show this link to my daughter because she has autism, and would sharpie everything in sight, but seriously, tomorrow while the little dear is at school, I will be making Barbie rock modest with the new sharpie swimsuit! THANK YOU! :)
I was just lamenting about this issue this week. Way to go!!
Okay this is so simple I have complained about this so much with boys around why didn't I just think of this? Thanks so much!!!
seriously? A naked doll is offensive? You'd better invest in a lot of sharpies, you're gonna have to do a ton of coloring in to cover up all your daughter's offensive parts! Have fun paying for all the therapy bills dealing with all the body issues you're raising your kids to have too.
I have 4 boys, so we really don't have a problem with naked dolls lying around. But, one day we were all over at a friends house, they have 3 girls, and I looked over to see my 6 year old holding a naked doll. He was just curious, but still it would have been great if they were covered.
I also wanted to let you know that I think it is wonderful that you are teaching your children modesty so young. Especially in a world that thinks there is nothing wrong with a naked doll.
There is a very big line between teaching modesty and teaching that the female form is offensive.
I love love love this. Funny, I was just talking about Barbie and the modesty problem in this post: http://superheroesandprincesses.blogspot.com/2011/02/barbies-new-catamaran.html
What a great idea. I always hate that about my daughter's toys. Why don't they just do that anyway when they make them! I
Kids need to explore and I'd rather be a little bothered by the naked doll (and hope my kids grow up to be more comfortable with nudity than I am) than permanently covering up these parts. There have been reports in the news that breast feeding mother's have been asked to cover up or stop feeding in public. To me that's offensive and I don't see much difference between that and what you're doing.
You have been featured @ UCreate Kids.
Thanks for putting yourself out there and standing for the right!
IT IS NEVER TOO YOUNG TO TEACH MODESTY!! The female body is gorgeous, but must be held sacred and not flaunted about.
I will be taking a Sharpie to our dolls for sure (just like I cover up when nursing in public). :)
I think this is a wonderful idea!! thank you for sharing and posting your idea! take negativity with a grain of salt ;) i guarantee that more mommies will appreciate this than not.
I'm all for modesty, but I don't see how this meets the goal. Instead of a plain naked Barbie, she now looks like she's wearing some sort of black leather Dominatrix outfit. If you're opposed to Barbies, why not just get rid of the Barbies?
Way to go! I was shocked to see some people left negative comments. I mean really??? I think it's great to teach your girls modesty at a young age! And I think the Barbie's look pretty cute in their new undies:)
I think this is a fantastic idea! I'm going to have to try this on my daughter's Barbies.
What a wonderful idea. I know I will be adding bathing suits to a few Barbies in the days to come. Thanks for standing up for modesty.
Love it. Great idea. I am goin gto be doing some barbie makeovers!
one moms brilliant idea, creates a big sounding board.
me, personally, keep all the barbies in a box, with all their clothes and accesories. after playtime, they dont lie on the floors naked.(heh) i maintain they keep their toys in the box.
in fact, i have seen perma-bikinied barbies for sale, so mattel inc. has also thought about this issue.
good idea, though unnecessary , i think.
Coming over from UCreate kids.
I think your idea is great. When I was a girl my mom always made sure our Barbies had modest clothes to wear. We threw out the skimpy ones. Our children are never too young to teach modesty to. Way to go!
Are you going to start using a Sharpie to color your children's bodies? This is not the way to teach modesty. This is just overkill. Try talking to your children. Trying to teach them that their Barbie dolls are wrong without clothes is sending the wrong message.
Yipes. S and M Barbie for sure!
That's just insane. Not every person wears a black one-piece bathing suit underneath their clothes at all times. Be realistic!
I personally don't let my girls have Barbies because its tough to find modest clothes for them. However, I have to say that I'm a little taken aback that people have left negative comments. Maybe they don't agree, but if more parents made it more of a priority to discuss modesty with their children our society wouldn't be as bad off as it is imho. Thank you for sharing your idea and for being a fantastic proactive mom!
i'm a little shocked at the negative comments. I have a friend who won't get her daughter barbies because her boys are all 'hehe bums' and such. I think this is a great idea! It is a little weird to see Barbie lying there all naked, or in just a skirt, or whatever.
I love this. Just because we cover naked bits doesn't mean we hate our bodies. I don't let my 3 year old lay around the house naked, either... If she doesn't want to be dressed, that's her choice, but she can stay in her room.
I did this to my Barbies when I was a child! --Love IT--
Wow...judean and all you other haters...did someone wiz in your cornflakes this morning? You aren't the parent of her children. Some of us actually value instilling morals in our children, and want to share that with others who feel the same way. If you don't like it, just don't do it!
Jess, I love this idea. I don't have a girl (yet!) but I have lots of fun girl things planned for the day I do. And the modest is hottest barbie just made the list! Thank you so much for this!
so awesome! please dont take the negative comments to heart!
We haven't yet purchased our daughters barbies (6 months & 3yrs old) but I know it's coming soon. What a great idea that we will use when they do start playing with barbies! Thanks!
I for one would rather just not buy the Barbie. I believe the women's body is beautiful and want to teach my daughter to always love herself no matter what size or shape she is. I really liked another bloggers comment to keep her dressed and not laying on the ground naked. But, to each their own in parenting styles. Kudos to you for standing up for what you believe in.
This idea is so simple, and SO fabulous. *Off to find my sharpies.*
This is brilliant! My little girlie is still under a year old, but I've saved all my Barbies for her for when she gets older! And I will for sure be sharpie-ing on a permanent swimsuit when the time comes!
Wonderful idea and thank you for standing up for something right when others are trying to bring you down.
My MIL uses finger nail polish for the same purpose. I think some people think she's weird, but it makes a very powerful point.
I'd say from the # of negative comments that some people just don't get it.
I see your point, but we just don't buy Barbie because we find her astounding figure too unrealistic. I had a friend who had a high shelf in her house that was "jail" and any Barbie found naked in her house had to go to jail for a week for indecent exposure. Her daughter learned to keep her Barbies dressed!
Jgood
What a wonderful idea. Don't listen to those mean-spirited posting. There will be someone around to shoot down and good and decent idea. What a great Mom you must be.
Sorry about that rambling post. That is what happens when you type and listen to something else at the same time! Just want to say again that I love that idea. I have done similar things myself. Carry on!
Jgood
I remember my little sisters naked barbies always laying around! Ha. I think it is a great idea Jess! Some of these comments crack me up though.... like the one about paying for therapy for body issues? Oh brother. Girls are not going to be learning about body issues from a barbie that has a black swimsuit. Take it easy you nay sayers!
I loved this idea when I came to your blog from Better After when she first posted this. I showed it to my girls today because I thought they'd like their Barbis to have "bathing suits." They sure did. They kept bringing me more of them saying "this one needs a bathing suit."
I can't believe all the negative comments. And Kate (@ Two Messy Hands), by comparing this to asking women to cover up while they are breastfeeding... really? Ridiculous! I'm the first one to whip out my breast to feed my kids, but that doesn't mean I want to encourage nudity. The one has nothing to do with the other, and by comparing them you are actually giving weight to the people who equate breastfeeding with nudity and therefore want to women to "cover up" when feeding their child! Breastfeeding is not nudity. Barbie not wearing any clothes is most definitely nudity. You can teach modesty and still be 100% pro-breastfeeding. Shame on you for suggesting otherwise!
My husband forbade Barbies in the house for that very reason. My daughter only had Barbies when she was older and able to keep clothes on them. He didn't think it was a good idea to let our son see them like that. I LOVE this!
well i think its a very good idea teaching modesty at a young age is the key to grow decent young girls. By the way your kids are beautiful :)sooooo cute
Call me copy cat!!! Thank you for this wonderful idea!
Blessings,
Shelley
I think this is an awesome Idea!! My almost 4 yr old is just now getting into Barbies. I plan on making some clothes this week for her Barbies, because it is really hard to find modest clothes for them. I will definitely be trying this out too! I think these negative comments are so silly! Teaching modesty is not teaching your child that her body is bad! and the comment about them being S and M Barbies? Seriously? If I wear a one piece black bathing suitdoes that makes me S & M? Come on people!
We are all as God made us, and modesty is meant to value what we choose to cover with clothing. We aren't covering up anything bad, or unknown. I find it disturbing that you permanently covered or "blacked out" important body parts with sharpie instead of just not doing Barbie style dolls or getting them underwear that they can take off when they bathe. I think that it's kind of funny that you put shiny black teddies on your daughters' dolls for the sake of modesty.
Love this! Now if we can only make them squishier around the middle or something to look more like real women.. :)
One of our Barbies has a lovely black marker streak across her face and my husband wisely used it as a teaching lesson for my girls that sometimes God makes people with birth marks or have scars on their face and they are still just as precious to him. Thought that was a good teaching tool!
pathetic.
How do explain that dress you are wearing to your little modest girls?
I am all for this! What's with all the haters? The only therapy needed will be theirs when their daughters are dressed like Bratz dolls at the age of 9. You can't start too young. Modesty teaches self worth and celebrates the female form in any size, not the other way around. I've done this to Barbies before, just a warning- it sometimes rubs off on the prominent parts. Ha ha.
And if a 4 year old is thinking Barbie is wearing a "little black teddy" then there are bigger problems at hand. I didn't know what that kind of lingerie was until I was in my late teens, because my mother raised me right. Shame on you people for being such perverts.
I really don't get why those of you who agree with the sharpie pen gone crazy, are so shocked that not everyone agree's that a naked Barbie is offensive. I grew up without benefit of a "grown-up" Barbie but flat chested sister Skipper. My moms paranoia only made me want a "real" Barbie even more. Thankfully when I was 10 had a friend that gave me her cast off endowed Barbies which I had to "hide" for awhile. I grew up modest, but NOT because I was not allowed to have one with (whispering)
" boobs..sorry cleavage" I grew up with values of modesty and respect for my body because of my mom's personal example, and talking to me. I agree with the comment that you are making the dolls look more "sexy" and like they are wearing little black teddies. Please do not disdain those with differing opinions. I have not read anything here in the negative that is flaming- but opinions from another perspective. Let us not judge- lest we be judged. If the goal to have others appreciate or consider our viewpoints, or beliefs it will not happen ridiculing when your not agreed with.
No one has yet commented on the aspect of this post that jumped out at me, the daughters pointing and commenting at other's appearance. I would hope that teaching basic respect and decency toward other people would be as important as "modesty."
I LOVE this idea in theory, but it just isn't modest enough for me. A skintight black strapless bathing suit certainly isn't something I'd ever call modest! I don't know if there is a good solution to this, unfortunately, which is why we do not allow our children to play with barbies. I think the barbie bodies are too 'grown-up' anyway.
And I agree somewhat with the last poster. It's important to teach modesty, but it's as important to teach children to respect others, especially adults. I do not allow my children to point out and gossip or say rude things about other peoples' clothing; that is not kind behavior.
Also, random, but you guys are basically the best looking family I've ever seen!
But they are dolls, i.e. inanimate objects that do not have genitalia... how can they be "immodest" in the first place?
Not to mention that Barbie should be naked under her clothes... aren't we all naked under our clothes? is it wrong to be naked?
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